Living with our adult son with autism and epilepsy. Sharing lessons learned from life around me.

The 10:59 and The 3:09

When Aaron watches a movie he doesn’t just watch the movie.He also looks at YouTube movie clips of the movie that he’s watching, over and over and over.He does the same thing with games that he’s playing.YouTube clip after YouTube clip of his games is watched again and again by him.I don’t mind him doing this.It wouldn’t matter even if I did mind because Aaron would do it anyway.What I do sometimes mind is how he wants me to watch these movie or game YouTube clips over and over as well…….with him hovering over my shoulder, bending over and rubbing his hands together in sheer delight……or clapping in my ear…..or squealing with laughter.

I mean, really, 99.9% of those clips are totally uninteresting to me.Aaron, however, doesn’t care about my disinterest…….or discomfort……or total boredom.Nope.All Aaron cares about is that he cares about those various clips, and so he thinks that Mom should care as well.I figure it’s a small price to pay for Aaron’s happiness.And trust me, a small movie or game clip is far, far, far more tolerable than watching a whole entire movie like Sharktopus or the super vortex movie that was German dubbed in English or the Japanese dubbed movie that Andrea and I endured…..I mean, watched…..with him.I’ve paid my dues.YouTube clips are what I endure…..I mean, watch…..now.

Aaron knows everything about these movie and game clips.Everything.Among other things, he has memorized their titles and also memorized how long the clip plays……down to the second.One day he had me searching for that one clip that he wanted me to endure……I mean, watch……and when I thought I had found it and stopped at that one, Aaron said, “No.It’s the 10:59.”

“10:59?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he answered.“10:59.”

And my slow brain thankfully realized that he meant the clip was 10 minutes and 59 seconds long.That’s when I told him that I was NOT enduring……I mean, watching…..this clip for the entire 10 minutes and 59 seconds.He understood, knowing that he at least had me trapped for part of that 10 minutes and 59 seconds, and he was happy.I was not.Not until I had endured……..I mean, watched………enough to make him happy.I don’t remember how many seconds it took for me to endure…..I mean, watch……that clip until he was satisfied.Aaron probably knows, though, down to the second.

Sometimes it’s the action that he wants me to see.Sometimes it’s a certain character.And other times it’s the music.Yes, he loves the varied forms of music that he hears on some of those clips.Yesterday it was Star Wars Republic Commando.

“Mom, can you look up Star Wars Republic Commando?” he breathlessly asked me.I put him off for awhile, but finally I gave in so that I could have peace once again.This time I stood beside him at his desk as he found the certain clip and then clicked the play button.There on the screen were little baby clones.Cute little baby clones, newly cloned and so…….new.The music was soft and sweet, just like you’d expect for this scene of new little baby clones.Aaron knew that those were violins softly playing, and he smiled broadly as he listened.Soon the scene changed.I guess the baby clones were older now.I couldn’t tell, but I wasn’t about to let Aaron know that.I didn’t want a baby clone lecture.With this new scene came new music, more upbeat and faster.Again Aaron smiled, and then rubbed his hands together in excitement.

He then pushed stop and it was over.That’s all he wanted me to experience…..the two different kinds of music, which had made quite an impression on him.“Mom, first it was tiring music.Then later it was heavy music!”

And we had a long discussion after that as he followed me around the house……a discussion about tiring music vs. heavy music.And I thought about how lullaby type music really is tiring music if it’s able to make a new baby clone get tired enough to go to sleep.

Brilliant, Aaron!

Yesterday evening, as we were cleaning up after supper, Aaron told me that he wanted me to look at yet another YouTube movie clip.Sigh.This time the clip was from Transformers…….Optimus vs. Megatron.“Can we look it up on your laptop when we sit down to watch Wheel of Fortune?” he asked me.

I hesitated.He continued.“Well, maybe we can’t.It’s 3:09.”

And Gary, smiling at me behind Aaron’s back, asked Aaron if that was 30 minutes.

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Author: hesaidwhatks

I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.
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